Monday 1 June 2015

What writing means to me

I started writing when I was very young – practically as I soon as I could hold a pen – and it has become a huge part of my life. It’s my passion, my hobby, and my freedom. I don’t know what hooked me when I was little, but it got wedged in so well that I don’t think it’ll ever leave.

Whether I write poems, blog posts, short descriptions or novel length pieces, the act of putting pen to paper, of creating sentences, of piecing words together to form something incredible, is something I have completely and utterly fallen in love with. I adore the simple aesthetics of words and punctuation, ranging from my untidy scrawl to the clearest pixelated font. The formation of punctuation and grammar is something I find to be unbelievably beautiful. It’s something that fascinates me, enthralls me even. I am wholly under the mercy of the written word.


For words can change the course of history. They can impact civilisations, individual lives. They can affect the way we think and can persuade us into siding with a particular point of view. They can make us cry until our cheeks are red and sore or can make us snort with laughter. They can awaken feelings in us that we never even knew we had.

Writing is something that I consider to be very special, and is something that is so simple, yet so complicated. It’s unassuming and ingenious. A true wonder of our world. It’s acting for introverts.

When I write, I am myself. Or I can be someone else; I could be a person who is the pole opposite of what I am. I could be some fantastical beast in a far off land, or just the person living opposite me. I can be whatever and whoever I want to be. I can get inside other people’s minds and give them an insight into my own. Writing is a way for me to get my voice heard, without ever having to open my mouth. I can stand up to a crowd of people, to nations and to the global population and share my opinion, without ever seeing their faces or getting stage fright. It’s a way to help people - a way to lend a hand, and aid them in solving something that they may not be able to be fixed with hammers and screws.  I can tell stories that only I would previously have known, had I not put them into words.

From writing we can learn. Learn about past eras and people, of others’ way of life and their cultures, of science and the great universe outside of our world.

Writing is an essential skill; it’s a craft. We hone in and improve upon our technique, so that our work is the best it can be. It’s artistic and academic - creative and professional.  It’s people’s livelihoods and their peace of mind.

It’s everything about us, and I love it with all my heart.

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